The truth of the matter is that the HD offering doesn't do well against the Victory in a head-to-head comparison. It was obvious in the Video at the beginning. When the HD appeared there wasn't much to say about the bike... "an Icon from the Icon" is certainly not anything that can be compared objectively. At the end it was all coming down to personal preference... OK, for most people that means comparing the bikes feature for feature, comparing performance, handling, ride, comfort, storage, braking, and price... then selecting the one that gives best value for the dollars spent. At least that would be my personal preference.

The 'faithful' will say "It has enough power for me" or "it handles well enough for me" or "I like the looks better" which are all just admissions that you are willing to pay more money and settle for the bike made by Harley Davidson just because it's made by Harley Davidson. Your personnal preference is to accept mediocre at a premium price for the priveledge of owning the Icon. More power to ya, but just because HD sells more bikes does not mean they are the better bike. All it means is they have convinced the masses that they are the 'cool' bike to own.

How many people say "I'm gonna get me a Harley" and go pick out the HD they like the looks of best and buy it? There is no comparison shopping, there is no 'short list' of bikes that meet their requirements... hell, the only requirement is that it's a Harley.

It looks like the HD faithful are a tad bit intimidated by the new kid in town. When the new kid has the icon outgunned in almost every category it gets some people's panties all bunched up around the axle.

Heh heh. You mean the new kid that's going to be shut down in a few months? That kid?

Motorcycle buying is ALWAYS a completely subjective decision. Even those who play the technical comparison game are still buying based on personal preference. If they didn't then the only sportbike that would sell all year would be the one that makes the fastest track time. If sportbikers buy any bike but the fastest one then they aren't buying based on performance either.

Why would anyone buy a Dullsville over a V-Strom or Versys? "It's a Honda." Same reason people buy HDs. They spend more for a bike that compares poorly to the competition. No difference.

__________________
"Make no mistake, Communism lost a big argument - one we know today as the 20th century."

Heh heh. You mean the new kid that's going to be shut down in a few months?.

Keep thinkin' that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by seruzawa

Motorcycle buying is ALWAYS a completely subjective decision.

Of course there is a subjective factor in a purchasing decision. To say the decision is completely subjective is painting with a broad brush. There has to be some objective comparison made, if nothing else to establish best bang for the buck.

I didn't get interested in the bike I ride because I was brand loyal, I got interested in it because it was a class leader. I rode all the bikes that made the short list and picked the one that was closest to what I wanted in a bike. The Harley didn't make the long list, moreless the short list. I was a whole lot more impressed with the Yamaha Roadliner than I was with any of the Harleys. I was more impressed with the Victory than the Yamaha and it was closer to 'perfect' for me than anything else. If Harley had built the Kingpin, I'd be on a Harley right now. If Honda had built the Kingpin, I'd be on a Honda right now.

Of course there is a subjective factor in a purchasing decision. To say the decision is completely subjective is painting with a broad brush. There has to be some objective comparison made, if nothing else to establish best bang for the buck.

I didn't get interested in the bike I ride because I was brand loyal, I got interested in it because it was a class leader. I rode all the bikes that made the short list and picked the one that was closest to what I wanted in a bike. The Harley didn't make the long list, moreless the short list. I was a whole lot more impressed with the Yamaha Roadliner than I was with any of the Harleys. I was more impressed with the Victory than the Yamaha and it was closer to 'perfect' for me than anything else. If Harley had built the Kingpin, I'd be on a Harley right now. If Honda had built the Kingpin, I'd be on a Honda right now.

Victory sales down 65% last year. They'd better pick up the slack or the stockholders will stem the bleeding.

For that matter if one is considering performance then they should stay away from long stroke V-twins altogether. 700+ pound underpowered barges.

__________________
"Make no mistake, Communism lost a big argument - one we know today as the 20th century."

I'm still trying to figure out why you Victory riders seem to have such an inferiority complex. My Harley is smooth, fast within it's design envelop and comfortable. It's reliable as a brick and it handles well, it offers excellent weather protection, has all the electronic bells and whistles plus seamless ABS and it has factory and aftermarket support other manufacturers dream about. If HD went tit's up tomorrow not one of the current owners would need to bat an eye in regards to whether or not they could keep the bike on the road. Can you say that about Victory?

You're barking up the wrong tree here, you really seem to feel the need to justify your purchase by slamming Harley, oddly enough I don't feel the need to justify mine. Since you're obviously a troll I'll give you some ammunition.....Harleys Best, F*ck the Rest, they only reason Victory and the others are in business building "cruisers" is to try to spin off some of Harleys coat tails, this is actually a good thing because it keeps ******s like you off Harleys.

Happy now?, your Fuji /Polaris/Victory is a failed experiment which will soon be put out of it's misery, I'm sure Honda has a nice "cruiser" for you all lined up

I'm still trying to figure out why you Victory riders seem to have such an inferiority complex.
You're barking up the wrong tree here, you really seem to feel the need to justify your purchase by slamming Harley

3. You seem to be the one with his panties wrapped around the axle and justifying.

Power doesn't matter... That's why there are many companies selling go fast stuff for HD and complete drive trains. If all we wanted was the power to do the speed limit we would all be riding Suzuki Volusias with fairings, hard bags, and tour packs...

Name a motorcycle manufacturer who didn't see a loss in sales last year.

I missed the memo that said cruisers and tourers are supposed to be slow and cumbersome. If one has 20 more HP and 20 more ft/lbs than the other, is this a bad thing?

Losing sales might not be so devastating when a company sells hundreds of thousands of units. Victory's highest sales year was around 7000 units total worldwide. Last year it was less than 3500. No corporation can take such losses indefinitely.

Who said tourers? I said cruisers. No memo needs to delineate reality. Reality is what it is. And long stroke V-twin cruisers are performance dogs. People don't buy them for performance. What universe do you inhabit? Imagine what a Tiger would do to a Victory in any performance capacity. LOL!

__________________
"Make no mistake, Communism lost a big argument - one we know today as the 20th century."

The 'faithful' will say "It has enough power for me" or "it handles well enough for me" or "I like the looks better" which are all just admissions that you are willing to pay more money and settle for the bike made by Harley Davidson just because it's made by Harley Davidson. Your personnal preference is to accept mediocre at a premium price for the priveledge of owning the Icon. More power to ya, but just because HD sells more bikes does not mean they are the better bike. All it means is they have convinced the masses that they are the 'cool' bike to own.

Oh so true. It's like when they beat you into a club, your to scared to go anywhere else.

The 'faithful' will say "It has enough power for me" or "it handles well enough for me" or "I like the looks better" which are all just admissions that you are willing to pay more money and settle for the bike made by Harley Davidson just because it's made by Harley Davidson. Your personnal preference is to accept mediocre at a premium price for the priveledge of owning the Icon. More power to ya, but just because HD sells more bikes does not mean they are the better bike. All it means is they have convinced the masses that they are the 'cool' bike to own.

Oh so true. It's like when they beat you into a club, your to scared to go anywhere else.

To be fair, MOKE - have you actually priced a Harley compared to Victory, or Honda, or Yamaha, et. al., lately?

Starts to almost make that Hog seem a bargain. 'Cept for the poor stupid schmuck that's almost down to MSRP on the one he bought 3 years-ago at a $10k markup for the "priveledge" of gettin' to the front of the Line........

(THAT was the real thing I always hated about Harley: The goddam scalpin' greedy-ass Stealerships)

__________________Parfois, on fait pas semblant Sometimes, it's not pretendOderint Dum MetuantLet them hate so long as they fearполитики предпочитают безоружных крестьянPoliticians Prefer Unarmed Peasants
Nothing to see here, Citizen. Move along now...

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